Following is a small snippet of “insider” knowledge, that may stand you in very good stead should you be in the unfortunate position of having to make a complaint about the service you have received at a franchised dealership. I was in a meeting the other day with some industry high rollers when the CEO of a well know car retailer told us that, in his opinion the “customer is king” and to paraphrase a cliché “never wrong”.
No surprise there, I suppose, as this has been a retail industry mantra for some time but then he said that as far as he was concerned there would be “big trouble” if any customer complaint got as far as his desk. He backed this up by saying that, in his mind, if a customer has taken the time to find out who he is and how to contact him then the grievance must be genuine. He then dropped the bombshell that he would resolve that grievance (perceived or otherwise) “any way the customer wants” and provide a kick up the backside to the hapless soul who should have taken care of things long before it reached the CEO’s desk.
So basically he is saying that if someone rucks, whether their complaint is genuine or not, he will capitulate, simple as that.
As we have allways said here on MTI, if you have a genuine grievance and you feel you are not getting anywhere on the shop floor, as it where, then if you know who to shout to, where to find them and you shout loudly enough you will get satisfaction.
Keeping customers happy, no matter what the cost, is certainly worth it for these businesses and will possibly turn out to be an effective long term strategy. What this means in general terms is that they rely on the fact that only a very small percentage of people will take their complaints that far and knowing the consequences of such an occurrence should keep all the retail staff on their toes.
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